


I Fit Right Here

by fritokays



Series: The Family That Wanted Me [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Fluff, Female Peter Parker, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I am penny parker trash, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Penny Parker - Freeform, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fritokays/pseuds/fritokays
Summary: Second in my Penny Parker story universe. It's fluffy and it's Tony and Pepper parenting Penny. It's super cute and made my heart happy so I hope you all enjoy it also! There's some angst for sure, but it's sandwiched in all the fluff so enjoy!
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The Family That Wanted Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150127
Comments: 24
Kudos: 155





	I Fit Right Here

“Mama!” Penny yelled as she ran through the penthouse with Natasha hot on her heels. She’d, with the help of Clint of course, loaded purple Kool-Aid into Natasha’ showerhead. Unfortunately, the woman had noticed before getting stained by the purple powder, “Help!” She cried out through her laughter as she threw herself at the wall and scaled it quickly.

“You can’t stay up there forever, маленький паук,” Natasha told her as she made her way to the middle of the ceiling, “You’re going to pay for this.”

“You didn’t even get any on you!” Penny pointed out from her spot dangling from the ceiling. She looked over when Pepper strolled into the room looking down at her phone, “Nice of you to come rescue me,” Penny said sarcastically.

Pepper looked up at the girl, one perfect eyebrow raised, “FRIDAY had already warned me long before you called out,” She explained, “And that still creeps me out, darling,” She said as she motioned to the girl’s current location, “Like ‘The Exorcist’ on steroids,” She gave a fake shudder.

“Well, she’s gonna get me if I come down,” Penny said and pointed towards Natasha.

“So why don’t you give up your accomplice and make a deal with her then?” Pepper suggested as she headed back towards her office, “Natasha, do not kill my child!” She tossed over her shoulder.

“No promises,” Natasha mumbled out, “Accomplice, huh?” She said and crossed her arms as she looked up at Penny, “We might just be able to strike a deal.”

Penny smirked and let herself fall. She flipped mid-air and landed on all fours, “Yeah?” She asked as she looked up.

“Yeah,” Natasha said after a moment of thought, “Also that was wicked cool,” She said in reference to the fall the girl had just made.

“Thanks, Aunt Nat!”

0~0~0

Penny hadn’t slept well at all the night before. She didn’t know why exactly. She hadn’t had any nightmares; nothing was really on her mind. But she just hadn’t slept. She’d nearly been a zombie all through her day. Glancing down at her notes as she rode in the backseat of the car Happy had picked her up in, she was surprised that they made any kind of sense being that she’d taken them on autopilot as she half-slept through her classes.

Penny sleepily thanked Happy as she climbed from the car and trudged into the building and then into the elevator. She’d been thinking about crawling into bed since she’d gotten up that morning. It had been the driving force to get her through the day.

Penny walked through the penthouse when the elevator doors opened and if anyone else was present for her to walk by, she surely didn’t see them. As she passed Pepper’s office, she paused. Some intense pull was telling her to just join her mother. And Penny didn’t have the will to fight it. Pepper and Tony always made her feel better and right now she wouldn’t mind some comfort.

The girl gently pushed the door open and Pepper looked up at her. She smiled widely and beckoned her in as she continued to listen to the phone call she was currently on. Penny dropped her backpack by the door as she closed it back and then rubbed at her eyes as she turned back to face her mother.

Penny shrugged and made her way around Pepper’s desk. She reached for the arm of the CEO’s chair and easily rolled Pepper back from the desk she was sat behind. Pepper looked up at her in clear amusement and also with question all over her face. Penny didn’t answer as she placed herself in the woman’s lap and curled up against her thanking whoever designed the office that the chair wasn’t one of those tiny office chairs.

Pepper stifled a laugh at the girl’s antics but shifted to put the call on speaker so she wouldn’t have to hold the phone to her ear and could instead hug Penny tightly. Penny sighed happily as Pepper’s arms wound around her and laid her forehead down on Pepper’s shoulder.

Nearly twenty minutes later when Pepper finally was able to say her goodbyes and hang up, Penny was still curled up on her lap, one of Pepper’s hands held in her own, “Hello, baby girl,” Pepper whispered as she tapped the end of Penny’s nose.

“Mmm,” Penny hummed, “Sorry to barge in, but,” She shrugged, “It felt right,” She said simply and Pepper tightened her arms around the girl marginally, “I had a shitty day.”

Pepper laughed, “Language,” She chastised playfully, “Why was your day shitty, darling?”

“I dunno,” Penny answered, “I didn’t sleep well last night and so today was just shitty because of that,” She shrugged and heard Pepper giggle again at her choice of words, “Now that I think about it, I might have forgotten to take my ADHD meds yesterday,” Penny mumbled, “Who knows?”

“FRIDAY, did Penny take her medication yesterday?” Pepper asked with a smirk on her face. Duh, FRIDAY would know.

“Ms. Parker-Stark did not take her medication yesterday,” FRIDAY answered. Penny felt a smile tug her lips upwards. They’d only recently hyphenated her last name, Penny choosing to still keep Parker to honor her birth parents, and she hadn’t heard FRIDAY refer to her as such yet. It felt right. Well, at least she knew why she couldn’t shut her brain off now.

“FRIDAY, in the future if Penny hasn’t taken her medication by 7 AM on weekdays, will you remind her?” Pepper asked.

“Noted,” The AI answered.

“Thanks,” Penny whispered to her mother and the woman dropped a soft kiss to her curls.

“Not a problem, darling,” Pepper told her, “Unfortunately, I do have to be in a meeting in a few minutes though and I don’t know how the board would take to me showing up with a spider-child attached to me.” Penny laughed and nodded, “I texted Tony. Will dad cuddles do until I can finish for the day?” Pepper cooed softly to the girl who nodded.

“Sure,” She mumbled.

“Sound a little more excited, kid,” Tony said from his spot in the doorway.

“She’s tired, Tony, leave her alone,” Pepper said and scrunched her face up at her fiancé.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony replied playfully as he bent down and kissed Pepper chastely and then wrapped his arms around Penny, “Come on, Roos,” He said softly and stood with the girl koala’ed onto him with her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his torso.

Pepper pouted up at him and he sent her a knowing smile. He knew she hated any time that she had to interrupt her time with Penny. The girl, of course, understood and never seemed hurt by it, but Pepper felt like she missed out when she did so anyway.

“You can come get her when you’re finished,” Tony told her with a laugh.

“Hey,” Penny whined from his shoulder, “When did I become an object?” She asked indignantly and earned two amused laughs.

Tony turned her slightly, “Look at your pouting mama,” He whispered and Penny shifted and then giggled.

“Okay, I guess,” She conceded as she settled against Tony again, “Hurry back, mama,” Penny mumbled as Tony turned to carry her from the room. Pepper let out a pained groan to which Tony just laughed at her.

0~0~0

Pepper finally left her meeting and headed for the elevator to take her back upstairs to her fiancé and daughter. As she entered the main room, she found Tony on the couch, Penny sat across his lap with her head on his shoulder and one hand fisted in his shirt, and she couldn’t help but get misty-eyed. She felt the urge to cry any time she thought about Penny too long. The girl was perfect.

“Oh, she’s so cute,” Pepper whispered as she stepped into Tony’s view. He looked down at the girl sleeping against him and his own lips turned up as well.

“She is pretty cute,” Tony agreed, “I was going to make dinner,” Tony started and Pepper widened her eyes, “But she wouldn’t let me up long enough.”

“Good for her,” Pepper teased, “I know we call her a garbage disposal, but I don’t know if even her stomach could handle your food,” Pepper said and they both heard the girl let out a sleepy laugh as she scrunched up her face and nuzzled her nose against Tony’s shoulder. Pepper felt her heart soar. That sound was everything, “Hey, baby girl,” Pepper said as she took a seat next to Tony and reached out to run her fingers through Penny’s hair.

“You finished, mama?” Penny mumbled and didn’t open her eyes. Pepper grinned at her.

“I am,” Pepper answered, “Is it my turn now?” She asked as she held her hands out when Penny opened her eyes to look at her. Penny laughed and shrugged, “I think dad’s gotten too much Penny time lately and I need to catch up,” Pepper told the girl who giggled as she shifted easily out of Tony’s lap and into Pepper’s arms. The woman hugged the girl to her tightly.

“Fine, fine,” Tony said sassily, “I’ll just go pick something up for dinner then,” He told the two of them. There was no malice to his tone though. He leaned forward and kissed the back of Penny’s head before pecking Pepper’s waiting lips.

“Thank you,” Pepper told him sincerely and he just nodded and couldn’t help the smile on his face. Those were his girls.

0~0~0

Pepper rubbed at her temples as she ended the phone call. She sighed, knowing there was no other option but hating it all the same. The CEO got up and exited her office to go find her fiancé.

She could hear him working as she stepped off of the elevator into the lab and smiled softly. No matter how much she complained about him being disgusting when he came up for the evening, or how much time he spent down here, she truly did love that he loved what he did.

“Tones?” She called softly and Tony looked up and shot her his signature smile as he put something in place and then wiped his hands off as he approached her. Pepper smirked and tugged him down into a passionate kiss, “I have to go across the country for a conference.”

“What?” Tony asked completely confused. “Don’t we have people to do that for us?”

“It’s you or me,” Pepper said with a raised eyebrow, “And I can’t get you to attend the meetings in this building,” She pointed out and Tony chose not to argue. He knew better. “I’ll be gone about a week.”

“Well, that’s shit,” He finally settled on as his response. He tugged her back into his arms, “The kid is not going to like this,” He said softly.

“I don’t fucking like it, Tony,” Pepper mumbled.

“Language.”

0~0~0

“But-” Penny started and was cut off.

“Penny, she hates it enough for all of us and she’s already about to cry, pick your next words very carefully,” Tony told the fourteen-year-old girl currently sat across the table from them. They’d just explained that Pepper would be leaving for the upcoming week.

Penny bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment, “I’ll miss you, mama,” She finally settled on.

Pepper’s tears finally fell as she got up and rounded the table to hug Penny, “I told you not to make her cry, Roos,” Tony whined playfully.

“Well, what should I have said?” Penny said over her mother’s shoulder, “Bye, mama, have a great trip. Dad and I will have fun without you?” She asked pointedly. Pepper smacked her lightly on the butt. “I can’t win for losing,” She huffed out. “I’ll just come too.”

“Not a chance, kid. You have school,” Tony pointed out.

“I could stand to miss a few days,” She shrugged with a smirk on her face.

“He’s right,” Pepper mumbled as she let her daughter go but sat down beside her now rather than returning to her spot beside Tony, “As much as I completely agree with you.”

“Worth a shot.”

0~0~0

Tony and Penny had both been there to see Pepper off, the woman stopping several times to whisper something in her daughter’s ear or to hug her “just one last time, Tony, shut it!”. The two of them were now at the kitchen table, Tony having had dinner delivered for the two of them.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Penny asked him, eyebrows raised as she continued to eat.

“You think we can’t function without her or something?” Tony asked her incredulously.

“I’m sorry,” Penny said playfully, and Tony braced himself for whatever sarcastic remark was to come next, “What was your social security number again?” She asked, playful glint in her eyes.

Tony’s jaw dropped, “She did not tell you that,” He said indignantly and Penny just giggled, “As I recall, I told her it was five and I stand by that,” He said and took another bite of his own dinner.

“Five, right,” Penny said and nodded, “What time is my curfew?” She asked him seriously and Tony sighed. “Weekdays or weekends. I’m flexible on an answer here,” She told the man, knowing that he had no idea.

“Umm, 9:30 on weeknights,” He answered proudly.

“You think we eat dinner at 9:30 during the week?” She asked him, eyebrow cocked up and looking way too much like Pepper in that moment.

“Look, whether or not I know what time your curfew is… 7:00?” He asked and she shook her head, “Or my social security number,” He followed up before she could interject, “We’ll be fine.”

“Sure, dad, sure.”

0~0~0

Penny grimaced as she felt the pain in her stomach continue and her nausea amped up as well. Tony had cooked the night before and she’d known better than to eat it. It hadn’t been bad though and he’d looked so proud of himself.

It was Thursday and Pepper would be home Saturday night. They’d nearly made it the entire week without any major mishaps. Until now. Penny let out a small groan and laid her head down on her desk momentarily before sitting back up and attempting to listen to her biology teacher.

“You okay?” Ned whispered and Penny nodded, though she most definitely was not. She was attempting to push her nausea down, she really hated being sick, especially in public. “Are you sure, you look really pale,” Ned told her.

Penny opened her mouth to reply, clamped a hand over her mouth, and leapt out of her desk. “Ms. Parker!” Was shouted after her by her teacher as she fled the room and hoped she made it to the closest restroom.

She was in luck, just as she hit the floor in front of the toilet, she was violently sick, emptying the contents of her stomach. She was sweaty and dizzy and she hated this.

Penny was suddenly sick again. She groaned as she flushed and sat back against the wall. Did anyone ever even clean these floors? She grimaced as she looked at the restroom floor she was sprawled across. No time to think about that.

She heard the restroom door open and saw MJ cautiously peek around the corner. The girl shot her a sympathetic look, “Ready to go to the nurse now?” She asked and Penny groaned and let her head fall back against the wall again, “Come on, Pen. You can’t stay here like this for the rest of the day,” She told the girl as she helped her up from the floor.

“Why not?” Penny mumbled.

“Because it’s gross,” MJ said simply as she led them towards the nurse’s office.

0~0~0

Penny had completely missed the looks that everyone had given both her and Tony when’d shown up to get her from school. The man had gotten the call, panicked, and nearly wrecked as he drove across town to the kid’s school.

He’d driven them home, all the while worriedly glancing to the half-asleep sick spiderling in his passenger seat and wondering how he could possibly deal with this alone. They’d joked all week that they didn’t need Pepper. Each time Penny successfully finished her homework or Tony didn’t blow up something that they both thought was definitely going to blow up? When Penny nearly didn’t catch Pepper’s favorite vase before it hit the floor? When Tony nearly caught the oven on fire trying to bake cinnamon rolls? They’d just say, “Just like Pepper would have done!” And laugh about it before going to clean up the mess they had inevitably made.

But now that he had had to pick up their daughter from school and the kid was clearly physically sick? How did he deal with that? Right now, he supposed he should worry about getting Penny up to the penthouse, having FRIDAY scan her for anything serious, and getting some spider-strength drugs into her.

Once he had Penny settled on the couch in the main room and FRIDAY had told Tony that this seemed like a routine virus, he’d gone to retrieve the medicines that would actually work on Penny’s body and she’d forced them down.

Tony had told FRIDAY to let him know of any changes in Penny’s temperature and anything else that he felt important and then had sat down on the couch with the girl laying her head against his shoulder and snuggling against him.

“Sorry, dad,” She mumbled and he tucked her into his side.

“What for, Roos?” He asked softly.

“We almost made it an entire week without having to admit that mama definitely runs this place,” Penny said against his shirt.

“I think we both already knew she did,” Tony said with a soft laugh, “There’s nothing to apologize for, Pen.”

“Still, I know you were totally looking forward to rubbing this in her face,” Penny told him, faint smile ghosting her lips.

“Maybe,” Tony said as he dropped a kiss to her mop of curls, “But it doesn’t matter,” He told her, “You matter.”

“Thanks, dad.”

0~0~0

“Alright, Pep should be out of today’s meeting,” Tony said as he checked his watch. Penny was nearly asleep against him, having put on some random episode of Doctor Who and then curling up on the couch, “You ready to call her?”

“We don’t have to,” Penny said after a moment of thought, “I’ll be fine tomorrow and when she gets back Saturday, it’ll be like nothing happened while she was gone.”

“Uh huh, and when she finds out that’s not the case, she’ll kill us both,” Tony pointed out. Penny shrugged but nodded that she completely agreed. Tony looked down when his phone buzzed and held it up, “Speak of the devil.”

“Hello, love of my life!” He answered and put her on speaker phone. Penny snorted as she tried to cover her laugh.

“Oh no,” Pepper replied, “What did you do?” She asked worriedly.

“What makes you think I did something, dearest most precious woman?” He asked and Penny really had to focus on not laughing. He was laying it on thick.

“I’m getting nowhere with you,” Pepper sighed, “Where’s Penny?”

“Hey, mama,” Penny said from her place snuggled into Tony’s side.

“Hey, baby girl,” Came Pepper’s more enthusiastic voice now. Tony playfully rolled his eyes, “What did he do?”

“I don’t think he’s done anything?” Penny said and scrunched her face up in thought, “We haven’t even had to get stitches this week. Neither of us,” She told the woman. That was a big feat for both of them. Either injuring themselves in the lab or while out being heroes.

“That almost sounds too good to be true,” Pepper commented and they heard her tell someone in the background that she needed copies made before dismissing him. “How was school today?”

“Umm, it was good,” Penny answered and suddenly she felt her nausea coming back. She looked at Tony wide eyed and he sat up suddenly, “I’ll be-” She cut herself off as she leapt up over the back of the couch and darted off towards the bathroom.

“Tony!” Pepper demanded, “What is wrong with her?” She asked in concern. Tony was up and running down the hallway after Penny, phone still in hand. He threw the phone on the counter as he pulled Penny’s hair back for her. Pepper’s answer came in the form of the sound of Penny being violently sick once again.

Penny let out a groan as tears fell freely down her cheeks. She hated being sick. She flushed and curled up in Tony’s lap and sighed as his arms wrapped around her small frame. “It hurts, daddy,” She said softly and Tony rocked them gently, careful not to make any sudden or harsh movements.

“I know it does, Roos,” He said softly as he brushed her sweaty hair off of her forehead, “I know it does.”

“Okay, I’m coming home,” Came the sudden voice of Pepper through the phone’s speaker. They both flinched, having forgotten that she’d been on the phone.

“No, mama,” Penny protested weakly, “I’ll be fine,” She said, “You have work to do,” She pointed out.

“I don’t give a shit, baby girl,” Pepper said softly, “You’re sick and that’s where I want to be,” She finished.

“Pep, knowing her spider-DNA, she’ll probably be fine by the time you get here,” Tony pointed out as he gently ran a hand over Penny’s back through her sweaty shirt.

“Tony, call me back when she’s brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, and is in the bed,” Pepper said with a sigh, “Baby girl, I love you so much and I’m sorry I’m not there.”

“I love you too, mama.”

0~0~0

“She’s asleep,” Tony informed Pepper as she answered the phone call. He’d gotten the kid to brush her teeth, take a quick shower, and put on fresh clothes. He’d even gotten her to down more spider-strength cold medicine before telling her to go lie down and making sure that FRIDAY was monitoring her closely.

“Tony, how bad is this really?” Pepper asked him.

“I really don’t think it’s that bad, Pep. FRIDAY thinks it’s a virus. Penny is still in good spirits even though she doesn’t feel the greatest. Her fever hasn’t climbed any,” He told her.

“I hate this,” Pepper whispered and Tony swore under his breath. She was crying, “I want to come home, Tony.”

“I know you do, baby,” He told her and ran a hand through his hair, “And, Pep, if that’s really what you want, I will send the StarkJet out for you now,” He told her earnestly. He heard her sigh into the receiver.

“Fuck,” She swore through her own tears, “Has she eaten anything today?”

“Nothing that she’s kept down,” He answered her. He knew she wouldn’t like that answer but there was no use lying to her now. “And now I think she’s scared to eat because she hates being sick,” He sighed. He hated this too.

“Okay,” Pepper said, making up her mind, “Send me the jet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

0~0~0

Pepper got in early that Friday morning. She dropped her bags by the elevator as she stepped off of it and into the penthouse. She took a moment to remove her heels, so she didn’t risk waking Penny up.

As she rounded the corner, she found Penny sitting on the couch, Pepper’s favorite blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and the TV turned to a random Netflix movie. “Morning, baby girl,” Pepper whispered as she rounded the couch. Penny’s head snapped towards her and her face broke into a smile as she stood and was pulled into a tight hug, “Do you feel better?”

“Kinda,” Penny mumbled against the woman’s shoulder and sighed contentedly as Pepper’s fingers weaved through her hair.

“Where’s your dad at?” Pepper asked as she pulled back and looked at the girl.

Penny laughed softly and pulled out her phone, “FRIDAY, show me dad,” She said and then turned the phone towards Pepper. Tony was curled up on the middle of Penny’s bed snoring away. Pepper looked at her in question as she laughed at the footage, “He sat up all night in case I needed him. When I got up to shower, he finally fell asleep,” She explained. Pepper smirked. She loved that man.

“That sounds about right,” Pepper said through a laugh. She put her hand to Penny’s forehead and watched the girl lean into the touch, “Baby girl, how bad do you really feel?” She asked in concern.

“Not as bad as yesterday, mama, promise,” Penny murmured. “But my stomach hurts really bad,” She whispered.

Pepper bit her bottom lip, “Okay, darling, sit back down. I’m going to change really quick, and we’re going to make you feel better,” She told the girl. Penny sank back into the couch and tugged the blanket back around her shoulders. Pepper dropped a kiss to the top of her head and made her way quickly to her room. She pulled out her phone and held it between her ear and shoulder as she changed quickly.

“Hello?”

“Nat, I need some help,” Pepper told her, “Don’t you have a magic Russian cure-all for colds and viruses?” She asked the spy on the line with her.

“Oh yeah, but that thing is something else, Pepper. I don’t think you want me making it here. The smell takes weeks to fully dissolve,” The spy told her, “Who’s sick?”

“Penny,” Pepper answered her and flipped the light in her closet back off as she exited and headed back down the hallway, “Can you make it double strength?”

“I’ll be right up.”

0~0~0

They’d gotten Penny all better. The girl then roping Natasha into actually cooking for her after torturing her with the ‘Russian nastiness’ that she’d taken to calling the soup of sorts that Natasha and Pepper had all but forced down her throat. The woman had just relented. Not many of them were immune to Penny’s charm anymore.

Penny walked into the lab after school a couple of weeks later and asked Tony to sign a permission form. “For what?” He asked without rolling out from under the car he was currently working on.

“For my next AcaDeca tournament,” Penny said, “It’s not out of town but I have to have permission to travel to the other school where they’re hosting it,” Penny told him as she boosted herself up onto one of the work benches and opened a granola bar.

Tony rolled himself out from under the car and looked up at her, “Are we not invited?” He asked her teasingly and the girl shrugged.

“Do you wanna be?” She asked hesitantly. May had never come to her school things before, she’d stopped asking a long time ago.

“Well, yeah,” Tony said, “A chance to gloat about how smart my kid is? That’s like top tier dad shit,” He said as he rolled back up under the car.

“Language,” She called out and then bit her lip to keep from smiling too widely. No matter how often they said things like that, it still got to her every time one of them called her their kid. “Are you going to sign this? Or do I need to take it up to mama?” She asked and then continued, “On second thought, I don’t think I want it covered in oil stains. I should probably take it up to mama,” She said as she slipped off of the work bench.

“Don’t you dare, kid!” Tony said playfully as he rolled out from under the car. Penny laughed and darted for the elevator, “Kid, when I catch you, I’m tackling first and asking questions later!”

0~0~0

Pepper looked up wide eyed as Penny ran into her office, held a finger to her lips, dropped a sheet of paper on her desk, and then scaled the wall before she was holding onto the ceiling by all fours.

“Am I supposed to understand anything that happens in this tower?” Pepper mumbled and kept typing as she shook her head. Only a few moments later, Tony was entering her office much like Penny had, “Woah, you are too dirty to be in my office,” She told him firmly.

“Pep, is the kid in here?” Tony asked her.

“She was in here,” Pepper answered, it wasn’t a total lie. “Why?”

“She told me I was going to get oil stains all over her permission slip,” Tony said sourly, “How rude,” He added.

“This one?” Pepper asked as she lifted the paper Penny had dropped on her desk, “What is it?” She asked as she now looked at the paper.

“A permission slip I’m signing,” Tony said and reached for it. As he opened his hand, a small bottle of hand sanitizer fell into it. Tony looked from his hand up to the ceiling in shock, “Kid! That is so creepy!” He said but his smile never left his face.

“At least clean your hands first,” Penny whined as she fell and landed on all fours in the middle of Pepper’s office, “Mr. Harrington has a germ thing,” Penny said with a shrug, “You should have seen him the day I almost puked all over his room!” She said almost proudly.

“That’s disgusting, darling,” Pepper said, going completely ignored by the two Starks currently taking over her office, “What’s this for?” She asked again, now directed at Penny.

“My next AcaDeca tournament,” Penny answered and somehow produced another small bottle of hand sanitizer when Tony put down the first one. She pushed it into his hands as he reached for the paper again.

“Where are you even getting these?” Tony asked as he surveyed her. Penny just laughed and raised an eyebrow, “Oh no,” Tony said and pointed an accusatory finger at Pepper, “She totally learned that from you,” He said and gestured towards Penny’s face. Pepper smirked proudly and shrugged while Penny laughed, “I don’t need double the amount of that. Stop it,” He said as he finally opened the bottle, poured some into his hands, and rubbed it in. He reached for the paper and went undeterred this time. “Hey!” He said and Penny looked down at the paper and giggled, “I wanted to sign this one!”

“Her signature’s worth more than yours, dad, face it.”

0~0~0

Pepper and Tony slipped into the back of the school’s auditorium and took two seats in the middle. Both were dressed casually; Pepper in jeans and a t-shirt with Penny’s school name on it, and Tony in jeans and a solid black t-shirt. He kept his shades on and Pepper had pulled a baseball cap onto her head as well. It wasn’t that they didn’t want people to know they were there, but that they didn’t want to take the spotlight from the kids.

Mama-bear: We just got here. Back middle. Good luck, baby girl!

BadDadJoke: Your mama has a baseball hat on. It’s tripping me out.

Mama-bear: Tony, I’m sitting right next to you.

BadDadJoke: The kid isn’t

Spiderling: No way! Selfie for proof! And thanks mama!

Pepper laughed, held her phone up, snapping a picture of the two of them smiling at the camera and sent it to their daughter.

Spiderling: Is there anything you can’t pull off? You gotta teach me how to rock a hat!

BadDadJoke: I haven’t seen anything that looks bad on her

Pepper leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, “You’re too sweet,” She murmured, “And also full of shit but I’ll take it.”

Mama-bear: I had to cover the hair, kid. Today’s about you!

Penny laughed as she read the text. They were currently waiting backstage for the tournament to be announced and for their cue to enter the stage. She knew Pepper’s hair was iconic. There were plenty of Vanity Fair articles on the woman’s hair and freckles. Pepper said they were demeaning because any time they did a spread on Tony it was always about power and business.

Penny looked up at Ned excitedly when they started announcing the tournament and welcoming everyone. Her best friend looked like he might be sick. How was he always so nervous before these still?

Spiderling: Thanks guys!

0~0~0

When Midtown High was announced the winners of the tournament, Penny and her team jumped around on the stage excitedly. She could have sworn she heard Tony yelling over all of the other parents and smirked to herself. She had single-handedly won two thirds of the tournament herself. When it came to mechanics and biology, she was the go-to.

Penny stepped backstage with Ned to grab her bag and say good-bye to the team. After slinging her bag onto her shoulder, and pocketing her phone, she waved her byes and stepped back out onto the stage.

“That’s my girl!” Penny blushed as she spun in the direction of Tony’s voice and shot him a look that clearly said, ‘I’m definitely embarrassed but it’s too funny to be mad’. She jumped the few feet down off of the stage and was immediately enveloped in Tony’s arms and swung around.

“Daaaad,” She whined playfully before she was sat back down.

“Don’t embarrass her, Tony,” Pepper chastised him playfully as she now wrapped an arm around Penny’s shoulders and pulled the girl into her side, “You’re cramping her style.”

Penny visibly cringed, “Oh god,” She mumbled and face-palmed, “No, you guys are definitely not invited next time,” Penny teased, “Where did you even get that?” She asked as she laughed and pointed towards Pepper’s shirt that matched her own.

“I’m Pepper Potts,” The woman said as explanation. Penny giggled and shrugged in agreement.

“Okay, it’s way too cute to pass up. Smile!” Penny and Pepper looked to where Tony was and laughed. Pepper wrapped her arms around Penny and pressed their cheeks together as they both wore equally large smiles on their faces. Tony snapped the photo and nodded his approval.

“Alright, baby girl, what do you want for lunch since you’ve got the rest of the day off?” Pepper asked Penny as the three of them started to make their way towards the back of the auditorium to exit.

Penny opened her mouth to answer and then felt her senses tingle. She furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side, “Shit,” She whispered and earned two concerned looks, “Umm, we might need to dip. And dip fast,” Penny told them and started moving faster towards the door.

“Kid, what?” Tony asked as he and Pepper chased after her.

“Mr. Stark!” They heard and both realized what had happened at the same time. From the other entrance, reporters were filing in and heading straight for them, “Ms. Potts!”

“Shit is right, baby,” Pepper mumbled as she grabbed Penny’s hand and let the girl pull her out of the auditorium. Tony trailed behind them hurling out sarcastic insults at the reporters, “Tony, at least make my job a little easier,” She told him.

“They ruined Penny’s win. I don’t give a shit,” Tony told her, and Pepper shrugged after a moment.

“Do your worst,” She told him. They made it to Tony’s car, and she ushered the girl into the back seat and climbed in with her. Penny buried her face against Pepper’s shoulder and the woman wrapped her arms around her. It wasn’t that they didn’t want the press or the public to know about her. But they didn’t want to broadcast her face all across the media and have her suddenly thrust into the spotlight they’d both been running from either. Penny loved them for it.

She heard the front door open, Tony sit down, and the car crank. When they’d made it out of the parking lot, Pepper finally loosened her hold on the girl, “Sorry, baby girl,” Pepper told her.

“It’s fine,” Penny laughed, “Most excitement at an AcaDeca event ever,” She told her and Pepper smiled softly and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair.

“Assholes,” Tony mumbled from the front.

“Language,” They both chided at the same time with the same tone and inflection.

“Oh god no. You’ve got to unlearn that one, kid,” He said as he made eye contact with her in the mirror, “The eyebrow thing is bad enough.”

“Nah,” Penny said and smirked at him. Pepper laughed and tugged the girl back into her side.

“I’m sorry we ruined your day, baby girl,” She told her softly and Penny furrowed her eyebrows.

“You’re kidding, right?” She asked incredulously and looked from Pepper to Tony who did both look really sorry, “This is the best tournament I’ve ever had,” She said completely honest, “No one else ever came,” She said softly and Pepper brushed her fingers through her hair comfortingly, “Plus you two look like total dorks,” She teased.

Pepper laughed after attempting to look angry with her, “We do, don’t we?” She asked, smile firmly in place.

“Speak for yourself,” Tony said from the front seat.

“Dad,” Penny said as she leaned forward, “You were the one wearing sunglasses inside. I think we both know who the bigger dork was.”

“Hey!”

0~0~0

Finding an obscure diner on the outskirts of town, Tony pulled in and told Penny she was getting pancakes for her victory lunch. Penny just laughed and climbed out of the car to follow the two of them inside.

Sitting around this tiny diner table with the two people who saved her, she was nearly overcome with emotion for them. Never did she think she’d have one person, let alone two people, who cared about her. Never did she think she might have parents.

She blinked rapidly and tamped down her emotion before either of them noticed. The diner was relatively empty, only one lone straggler downing a cup of coffee in the corner. The waitress had looked at the three of them, recognition clear in her eyes, and had acted as if nothing was amiss. She’d led them to a booth, set out menus, and told them she’d take their order when they were ready for her.

The three of them had an easy conversation as they ate. Penny’s sides hurt from laughing at one of Tony’s stories while Pepper continuously rolled her eyes at the inaccuracies he was telling and kept correcting him under her breath.

Just after desert was placed on the table, Penny’s senses went haywire. She looked out of the window as far as she could, looking for danger but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Her eyes scanned the diner from top to bottom and everything in between. She couldn’t find anything wrong. Yet her senses continued to go crazy.

Penny turned her attention back to the two across from her. As Pepper’s bite of cake got closer to her mouth, Penny’s senses went so far into overdrive that she thought she might actually be sick. She reached out and wrapped her fingers around Pepper’s wrist just as she was about to put the bite in her mouth.

The woman looked at her in question and Penny’s eyes flicked to the food on her fork, “Something’s wrong with that, drop it,” She said. Pepper didn’t need to be told twice before she put her fork down quickly.

“I’m not dead yet,” Tony said as he looked at his own dessert.

“Yours isn’t sending my senses into turbo mode,” Penny whispered. Tony furrowed his eyebrows and took another bite. A look of recognition settled on his face, “What?”

“Strawberries,” He supplied and the girl looked at him in confusion. “The one and only thing on this planet that she’s allergic to,” He told her. Penny could only nod, eyes wide.

Pepper subtly pushed the plate away, “I guess I should ask what’s in the special before ordering it,” She said with a soft laugh, “Thank you, darling,” She said gratefully towards her daughter.

“Yeah, mama, no problem,” The girl replied with her own laugh.

0~0~0

_She can’t get out. The darkness surrounds her in every direction, and she can’t get out. Her senses won’t come alive and she can’t feel anything. She can’t hear anything. She can’t see anything. She can feel her lungs begin to seize up. She can’t be alone. Not again_

_Then she hears something. Hears someone. Her eyes and ears search. Looking for someone. Anyone. And her blood runs cold when she recognizes that voice. That voice who told her she was worthless over and over again. That voice who told her that no one could ever love her. That voice who told her that she was just a burden to anyone she came in contact with._

_May finally steps into focus, devious look on her face and a smirk playing at her lips. No. Penny couldn’t do this any longer. She wasn’t strong enough anymore. She couldn’t do this._

_“Told you no one wanted you,” May sneered at her. Penny shrunk in on herself. She hated that she cowered to this woman. But what else was she supposed to do? “See? Now you’re all alone,” May swept her arm out and gestured to the darkness around them. “No one here to save you.”_

_Penny cried and pulled her knees to her chest as she buried her face in them, “Stop it,” She murmured, “I want to go,” She cried, “I want to go home. Please,” Her heartbroken sobs came out and wracked her body._

_“Home? That’s a good one. You don’t have a home. Remember, Penny? No one wants you,” May spat at her. Penny sobbed harder._

_“Please, leave me alone,” Penny cried as she rocked herself back and forth, “Just leave me alone,” She pled with the woman._

_“Penny!” She heard and shook her head. “Penny! Wake up!” The girl felt her eyes beginning to open._

Penny sat up straight and gulped in air before letting out a sob. She felt someone move next to her and quickly shifted away from the figure. “Shit, FRIDAY, lights on!” She heard and fought with her mind to make her realize who this was. It wasn’t May.

As the lights came on in her room, she realized both Tony and Pepper were there. Penny had ended up backed into the furthest corner of her bed against the wall in her haste to get away from whatever was in the darkness with her.

Both Tony and Pepper wore looks of concern and Penny continued to breathe erratically. It was Tony who spoke first, unsurely, “Penny?” He said gently and the girl was then practically throwing herself into his lap.

“Daddy,” She cried as she clung to him. Tony’s arms wrapped around her easily and could he feel her shaking violently. He met Pepper’s eyes and saw that she was also crying quietly from watching their daughter in very obvious distress.

“I’ve got you, baby girl,” He told her as he rubbed her back soothingly, “You’re safe, Penny. I’ve got you,” He murmured over and over again until her shaking started to calm down some.

Her sobs gave way to pathetic hiccups as she continued to struggle for breath as well. “Baby girl, look at me,” Pepper said sternly knowing that Penny needed structure at the moment to ground her, “You’re going to breathe with me, okay?” The girl nodded shakily. Penny mimicked Pepper’s breathing for several minutes before finally feeling like her chest was the right size again and not three sizes too small. “There we go,” Pepper said, voice full of love and affection now that Penny was fully conscious. She cupped the girl’s cheeks in her hands and wiped her tears away with her thumbs, “You’re safe, baby. You’re right here in your room at the tower.”

Penny gave a shaky nod, but felt Tony tighten his hold around her marginally as if he could tell she still wasn’t fully sure. “S-sorry,” She whispered, voice hoarse from crying and thick with tears still.

“Oh no, sweet girl,” Pepper cooed, “There is absolutely nothing for you to apologize for,” The woman told her and tapped her nose, “Nothing,” She said definitively.

“She’s right, princess, there’s no apology needed,” Tony told her and she sighed and leaned against him, limbs going slack now that she was no longer in distress and felt exhausted. “That’s right, Pen, go to sleep. We’ve got you.”

Penny vaguely registered that she was being carried before she was placed down on a bed. She felt a slight panic before someone shifted and she was tugged forward into a warm embrace. ‘Mama’ she thought comfortingly as she breathed in deeply. As she drifted into sleep, she could hear them both whispering soothing words to her.

0~0~0

Penny woke the next morning slowly to soft sheets, dim lights, and gentle fingers weaving through her hair. She blinked a few times before her eyes focused fully on Pepper who was sitting next to her on the bed. “Good morning, darling,” She murmured, soft smile gracing her lips, “I came to see if you wanted to join me for breakfast seeing as how your dad is already nose deep in some new project,” Pepper told her.

Penny felt her own smile make its way across her lips. Pepper didn’t push, she never made her uncomfortable, never forced anything. She knew if Penny wanted to discuss her nightmare, she would on her own time.

“Is there orange juice?” She asked as she sat up and easily moved into Pepper’s inviting arms. The woman hugged her tightly as she pressed soft kisses to the side of her head reassuringly.

“I think so and there’s also this really odd-looking juice-type situation that Tony insists is delicious,” Pepper said in distaste. Penny giggled against the woman’s shoulder.

“It’s really not that bad,” She said with a shrug.

“I’m just going to take your word for it then.”

0~0~0

Tony and Pepper had had to be out of town at the end of this week for a new product launch. Penny had laughed them off, told them she’d be fine, she had a tower full of Avengers, several AIs, and security to keep her company. During the day, she attended school, after school she patrolled or went home to work on a project that was coming up due next week, and then she ate dinner with Natasha, Clint, Steve. At night, and not that she would ever admit this to any of them, she crawled into her parents’ bed to sleep surrounded by familiar and comforting scents.

Pepper had video called her from the backseat of whatever car they were in on the way to the launch earlier today. She’d asked about Penny’s day, if she needed anything, if she wanted anything, if anything new had happened, and then Tony had cut her off and told her to breathe and let the kid answer. Penny had just laughed at them bickering playfully in the car while on a video call with her.

The Avengers had gotten a call just as Penny was getting home today to go handle some new threat that was breaching upper New York. They didn’t figure it would take long and Natasha had adamantly denied Penny’s requests to join them, stating that Pepper had informed her about her test Friday and that she’d find a way to have the spy killed if she let Penny stay out on a night before a big test. Penny had huffed, thrown her arms up angrily, and stomped off into the tower with three sets of muffled amused laughter sounding behind her.

She’d studied, done her homework, eaten dinner that she’d had delivered, studied some more, texted Tony back when he’d asked her if she would calm her mother down as the woman seemed like she might take someone’s head off, called Pepper to talk to her for a while, gotten a thank you text from Tony, taken a shower, and plopped herself down on the couch with Pepper’s favorite blanket around her shoulders and trashy television on.

She checked her phone when she heard the elevator start to move and furrowed her eyebrows. No one had messaged her about being back and she didn’t know why anyone would be using the private elevator otherwise.

“FRIDAY?” She called and got no answer in return. She went on high alert and strained her ears to pick up anything she could. The back of her neck started to tingle, and she froze in place trying her hardest to sense anything out of the ordinary, “FRIDAY?” She tried one last time as she stood from the couch and dropped Pepper’s blanket from around her. “Shit,” She mumbled as she crouched down in front of the couch.

She shifted as the elevator doors opened and started to move around the couch thinking that if she could just get to the right position, she’d have leverage to attack whoever had gotten into the tower. Suddenly her entire body felt wrong. Her head felt full and her eyes unfocused. She flopped to the floor and heard the sound of heavy boots on the floor before she blacked out.

0~0~0

Penny woke and suddenly was on high alert once again. She sat up quickly and felt an intense headache forming behind her eyes but chose to ignore it in favor of scanning the room she was currently in. It seemed pretty high tech and she assumed that she wouldn’t have much luck trying to break out on her own. It was pretty bare, concrete floors and white walls being the extent of decoration. There were no windows, and the only source of light came from a single bulb. The door was massive though. It looked like something Tony himself might design. She swore under her breath.

Penny looked down at herself now and grimaced. She was dressed in one of Tony’s old SI hoodies that was at least three sizes too large on her. She’d paired the hoodie with a pair of Pepper’s soft sleep shorts. She missed them, what could she say? On her feet was a mismatched pair of socks being that she’d done her own laundry and hated pairing socks, Pepper always laughed at her for it. One foot was printed with Black Widow emblems while the other housed images of Tony’s arc reactor. She sighed, none of that was going to help her very much.

Penny quickly stood as she heard the mechanisms in the door start to whir to life. She looked up into the cold eyes of a man she’d never seen before. Behind him were two armed, masked men as well. Penny felt herself tense and forced a calm over her body.

“We need to get in contact with Stark,” The man told her gruffly and Penny just stared at him.

“And what makes you think I can get in contact with him?” She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Pepper Potts.

“You were in his private tower,” The man said simply.

“I’m an SI intern,” She answered pointedly and shrugged, “You’d have been better off taking the AI system. He probably cares more about that thing than he does for me,” She finished.

The man squinted at her as if trying to get a read on her, “You go to work like that?” He asked and gestured towards her current wardrobe.

Penny made a show of looking down at her attire and shrugging as she shifted on her feet, “I mean I am fourteen,” She pointed out, “And it’s not like there’s a dress code. I left my shoes by the door so I wouldn’t track anything through the apartment.”

“How did you get into the apartment then?” The man asked, thinking he’d gotten her there.

“With special clearance to deliver a package to Miss Potts’ office,” She answered easily, “How did you get into the apartment?” She asked coldly.

“We aren’t talking about me,” The man told her sharply and Penny just stared him down. “You’re going to get us in touch with Stark.”

0~0~0

Pepper answered her phone distractedly and then dropped the glass in her hand when she registered what had been said. Tony turned to look at her in complete shock and question written all over his face. “Pep?” He asked and she didn’t make any kind of acknowledgement that she’d heard him. He took the phone out of her hand, “Nat?” He asked as he looked at the caller ID and put the phone to his ear. Tony’s face went pale and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone, “Fuck!” He swore loudly and then was corralling his fiancé out of the lobby of the launch that was about to take place in and calling for their car.

“Tony,” She whispered as she sat next to him in the back seat. He was on several devices and making calls and putting plans in place as quickly as he could. He looked up into her eyes. She hadn’t spoken since the call. Her eyes were still clouded over, “Tony, she-” She shook her head. She couldn’t even fathom what she was going to say.

He pulled her against him and breathed in deeply, “I know,” He said and shook his head, “I know. We’re going to find her, Pep. We’re going to find her and we’re going to bring her home and so help me if one damn hair on her head is harmed, I’ll kill every son of a bitch who even so much as breathed in her direction.”

0~0~0

It had been 24 hours now that she’d been missing. Pepper was all but a zombie. Tony wasn’t much better. Natasha was a wreck, but she was doing all she could to find her niece, pulling out all the stops and all the favors she had. Clint had been scouring the city and checking in the rings he had connections in. Steve was helping in every way he could, checking leads and following people down rabbit holes.

“Sir,” Came the voice of FRIDAY and they all held their breath, “You have an incoming message. I think you might want to see this one,” The AI told him and Tony felt his heard drop.

“Show it to me, FRI,” He told the AI and suddenly Penny’s face was on the flat screen in front of them. He felt Pepper tense up next to him and grabbed one of her hands tightly.

Penny was staring just behind the camera, sass written all over her face, eyes telling whoever she was looking at to ‘try me’. She’d picked that up from Natasha. Had to.

“I’m not reading this,” She said finally and raised her eyebrow at the person behind the camera, “It’s stupid. Who wrote this for you? Criminals hire children now?” She asked full of snark.

“Read it,” Came a voice from off screen and Penny rolled her eyes. Tony felt a sense of pride. That kid was something else.

“I think I just told you I wasn’t going to,” She said and jerked her head back quickly as she caught the wrist that had moved to slap her across the face, “Don’t you fucking touch me, buddy,” She spat at him, “Just because you couldn’t bother to write a cohesive ransom note doesn’t mean that I’m going to read the absolute shit that you did come up with,” She mumbled and threw the hand that was still in her grip. She finally looked into the camera for the first time, “This is a message for Mr. Stark,” She said and she gave nothing away, “Dude, here,” She gestured to somewhere behind the camera, “Would like a lump sum pay out for my return,” She sighed, “I told him you didn’t like me that much and he’d be better off paying you to come get me, but,” She shrugged, smirk playing on her lips, “He listens about as well as Clint does,” She said and winked.

The video cut off suddenly and they were all silent staring at the now black screen. Pepper was the first to move, getting up to run to the closest bathroom to be sick. Tony had swallowed down his own nausea and couldn’t fault her at all. He rubbed a hand harshly over his face before looking at the other three.

Natasha looked empty. Like actually empty, as if she had been drained, or completely given up. Steve looked hopeless as well, and his eyes were unfocused. Clint was lost in thought, eyebrows furrowed.

Tony stood and took a breath, “Did that help anyone?” He asked and received three slow head shakes, “FRIDAY run the video analysis,” He said, but he knew it would turn nothing up. If they were smart enough to break into his tower, they would be smart enough to send him a video that couldn’t be traced.

0~0~0

Penny was not feeling well. Her spider-DNA meant she had to stay hydrated and fed. But she definitely had to stay hydrated as her body went through water more quickly than everyone else. She was starting to feel sluggish already. Her head was foggy and she felt a dizziness settling in. Her senses were starting to fail her and not be as effective. She needed to get out of here.

She turned a hate-filled gaze towards the door when it started to open. She didn’t stand for them anymore, instead choosing to make them come to her. “So, what are you really worth to them?” The man asked her and Penny rolled her eyes.

“I told you I’m just an intern. What part of that do you not understand?” She asked him, eyes locked on his own. “He doesn’t give a shit about me,” She told the man and it honestly pained her to say it. She just wanted them both right now. Wanted nothing more than to feel Pepper’s arms around her and to smell the familiar scent of oil and faint cologne that clung to Tony. She fought back tears.

“I find that hard to believe,” The man told her simply.

“Yeah, well, apparently you’re hard-headed,” She said and turned her gaze away from him to stare at the wall.

“We heard recently that Stark took in a child,” He told her evenly, she knew he was trying to gage her reaction. She held her gaze on the wall and gave him nothing.

She slowly turned to face him, “A child,” She said pointedly, “No one in their right mind would want a teenager,” She gestured towards herself, “You’ve got the wrong person,” She told him as she shook her head, “Did you ever just stop to think you might be wrong?” He turned to leave and she cleared her throat, “Umm,” She started and he glanced back at her, “Could I at least get some water?”

“When you tell me who you are.”

0~0~0

Pepper woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and pulled herself out of the bed. She walked out of her bedroom, careful not to wake Tony who hadn’t slept at all in the last two days. As she entered the main room, she felt her breath catch as she watched Penny on the screen. Clint was sitting way too close to the screen and watching her intently.

“Clint?” She said and he jumped as he stood and turned to look at her. She hadn’t spoken since the car after she got the call. “Clint, you can’t watch this all night,” She mumbled and he shook his head and retook his seat.

“There’s something here,” He said quietly, “I know there is,” He said and pressed play again.

Pepper looked at him for a long moment before walking over and taking a seat next to him. She watched her daughter over and over again as Clint watched and rewatched the clip, “It just doesn’t make sense,” He said under his breath, “As well as I do?” He asked, “And then she winked,” He shook his head, “Have you ever seen her wink?” He asked Pepper.

She thought for a moment before looking at him, “Never,” She said with a shrug and turned her attention back to the screen. She furrowed her eyebrows and took the remote from him. “What’s that?” She asked as she paused the screen and pointed.

“What?” He asked confusedly.

“FRIDAY, zoom in,” She said and waited for the screen to zoom in and focus, “Oh my God,” She said as she stood suddenly, “Clint! It’s ASL!” She yelled and pointed. Right there in the reflection of the eye Penny had winked with, was her own hand twisting over and over again in the same pattern, “She did tell us something.”

Tony, Natasha, and Steve all appeared only a moment later, having heard Pepper yelling. “Pep?” Tony asked and Clint was the one to answer him.

“Your fucking fiancé is brilliant, dude,” He said and explained what Pepper had just discovered. “It’s a series of numbers and I have no idea what it is, but we have something.”

0~0~0

Penny’s headache had slowly worsened overnight, and she was barely functioning by morning. Her spider-senses were all but useless at this point and she was starting to wonder if she would even be able to fight back if she had to.

She swallowed thickly as she sat up and leaned back against the wall in the room. She drew her knees up to her chest trying to conserve any body heat that she was currently producing and shivered slightly.

Penny laid her face down against her knees and, for the first time since being taken, allowed herself to cry quietly. God, she felt pathetic. What other teenager cried for their parents? Then she decided she didn’t care. She’d waited for them her entire life and, all else be damned, she wanted them now.

She felt her eyes getting heavy again and sighed. She knew her enhanced DNA kept her from completely shutting down. Her body would force her to sleep to conserve as much energy as possible.

Penny curled into herself and drifted off to sleep once again.

0~0~0

Tony had run the series of numbers through a system data base in every possible combination. He watched over and over as the numbers came up to mean nothing and felt that sense of dread start to set in again. He knew they were so close. Why couldn’t they figure this out?

He shot Pepper a grateful look as she sat a mugful of fresh coffee down next to him. He took a sip and placed the cup back down before pulling her into his arms and holding her close.

“Tony,” She started and then trailed off and shook her head as she hugged him more tightly.

“I know, Pep,” He whispered against her shoulder, “I can’t live without her anymore either,” He told her. He felt hot tears hit his shirt then. What would they do without her if… He couldn’t even finish the thought.

“I just want her home, Tony,” Pepper whispered brokenly, “God, I’ll never take my eyes off of her cute little face again if we just get her home,” She told him. When they’d gotten back from the launch and realized Penny had been sleeping in their bed, Pepper had all but hit the floor right then and there. She’d sobbed so hard she’d made herself sick as she’d realized that Penny had been seeking comfort while they’d been gone. “I’ll never leave her again. We’ll go to college with her,” She mumbled but the joke fell flat as her tears broke through again.

“Sir, we’ve got a match,” FRIDAY informed them suddenly and they broke apart quickly to look up at the data on the screen, “The numbers appear to be a serial number for a small part of a door locking mechanism,” The AI continued.

“How many have been sold?”

“Not that many,” The AI informed him and pulled up the information.

“And where was the closest sale to here?”

0~0~0

Penny vaguely felt the back of her neck tingle but couldn’t do much about it. She continued to drift in and out of consciousness. She registered the sound of the door opening but didn’t open her eyes.

“Shit,” She heard and tried to force her eyes open, “I’ve got her!” Was yelled now and she felt arms wrap around her back and under her knees, “Hold on, Penny. This is almost over.”

Penny forced her eyes open finally and looked up at the person carrying her. She felt a sense of calm wash over her, “Aunt Nat?” She whispered; her voice long gone.

“I’m right here, маленький паук,” Natasha told her and held her close, “I’m going to take you to your mama and help finish this up,” She snarled the end of her statement. Penny sighed. Mama. God, yes, she wanted her mama.

Penny felt the sunlight on her skin for the first time in days as Natasha stepped out of the building. She could feel herself starting to feel marginally better already. “Potts!” Natasha called and Penny could hear someone approaching them quickly. She was shifted from Natasha’s arms and stiffened only a moment before recognizing Pepper’s warm embrace and familiar scent. She melted into her mother’s arms. “She’s awake, but barely,” Natasha told her before turning and running back into the building.

“Penny,” She heard her mother say her name and clung to the woman, “Penny, oh my God, baby I love you so much,” She told her as she dropped the two of them into the back seat and told Happy to drive. She cradled the girl in her arms and finally saw Penny’s eyes open slowly, “Hey, baby girl,” She cooed as she gently ran her fingers through her hair. Pepper was all but sobbing and Penny knew that if she wasn’t so dehydrated, she would be as well.

“Mama,” The girl whispered brokenly, and Pepper hugged her tightly. Penny settled against the warmth emanating from the woman.

“I’ve got you, darling. I’ve got you,” Pepper told her and reassured her over and over again, “We’re taking you home. We’re going to get you better. I promise.”

0~0~0

When Penny woke again, she tensed and reacted violently. She was halfway up the wall behind the bed she’d been on before realizing that she was no longer in that room, that her parents and Dr. Cho were all pleading with her to come down, and that she was attached to an IV. Penny took as deep of a breath as she could before slowly returning to the ground, “Sorry,” She mumbled.

“Don’t be,” Tony told her as he embraced her. She sighed and rested her head against his chest. They didn’t say anything else to one another, just clung to each other tightly, but they said all they needed to that way.

Penny finally climbed back onto the bed and sat cross legged in the middle of it. She looked over to Pepper and chewed on her bottom lip before opening her mouth. Pepper shook her head and slid onto the bed, wrapping the girl up in her lap before she had a chance to ask the question, “I’ve got you,” She told her quietly and kissed the back of her head, “I’m right here.”

The three of them turned their attention to Cho when she started talking, “It appears that there is no lasting damage,” She said, and Penny heard both of them sigh in relief. “While she was and still is severely dehydrated for her body, she is recovering quickly. There should be no lasting physical side effects,” She told them, “She should stay on the IV for at least another 24 hours and we can go from there.” She’d finished, they all thanked her, and she left them alone.

Penny broke the silence as she looked to Tony, “So who was it?” She asked quietly. Tony looked between her and Pepper before sighing and shrugging defeatedly.

“We still don’t really know. No record, no one recognizes him or the clowns working for him. He won’t be bothering anyone again but no idea who he is.” He told her honestly. Penny let that sink in and nodded as she sank back against Pepper who pressed kisses to the side of her head comfortingly.

“How’d he get in?” She asked.

“FRIDAY happened to be running a brief update the moment that he attempted to hack the system. Otherwise, he never could have breached it,” Tony said and took a seat on the foot of the bed across from them, “I’m sorry, baby girl, I never would have-” She shook her head and cut him off.

“This isn’t your fault, dad,” She told him earnestly, “It would have happened to whoever was around. He scrambled something,” She told him.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, “He what?”

“He did something,” She told him, “He had a small device, it made my body go numb and my head feel weird. He called it a scrambler.” Tony sat back and she could see him get lost in the thought process. She nudged Pepper, smirk on her face, “Five bucks says he gets up and walks out of here without saying a word.”

Pepper giggled and tightened her hold on the girl in her arms, “You’re on,” She whispered. They watched as Tony rotated his wrist and let his watch project a hologram. He started to rotate the hologram and scroll as he got up from the bed slowly. Penny bit her lip to keep from laughing as the man continued to research as he walked out of the room in the direction of the elevator. She turned to look at Pepper before both of them burst into laughter, “Okay, I definitely owe you that one,” She said.

Penny giggled and turned in Pepper’s lap to hug her. She felt the woman deflate and hold her tightly as she ran her hands up and down Penny’s back, “I love you, mama,” Penny whispered and Pepper held her more tightly.

“I love you too, baby,” Pepper told her, “God, so much,” She whispered against her hair, “You’re never going anywhere without me again I swear,” Pepper continued, “I’m going to chaperone your prom, every field trip, I’ll be there when you graduate, I’m moving into your college dorm with you, damn I might attend your honeymoon,” She told the girl who just laughed in response, “I’m serious.”

“Oh, I know,” Penny told her through a laugh, “I can tell,” She said as she shook her head. The girl suddenly gasped and Pepper pulled back to look at her in alarm, “I missed my test!” She said in explanation.

Her only response was the sound of Pepper’s laughter.

0~0~0

Penny had been released into the care of Pepper and Tony the next day. They’d taken her upstairs where Penny could hear Natasha, and smell that she was definitely cooking as well. Steve was in one of the armchairs reading another of his presidential autobiography books. Clint was perched on the back of the couch cross legged as he shot rubber suction arrows at the wall around the room.

Penny furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the back of an unfamiliar head of blonde hair. She glanced to Tony who was no help in answering her as he was trying to sneak up on Clint and knock him off of the couch. She rolled her eyes playfully before turning to Pepper who just smirked and shrugged at her as she retreated to the kitchen to see if Natasha needed anything.

“Uncle Clint,” Penny called out just as Tony was about to gain the upper hand. Clint spun and easily shot an arrow, it ended up stuck right in the middle of Tony’s forehead, “Nice shot,” She commended and the two fist-bumped as Steve chuckled under his breath at the three of them.

“Kid!” Tony said indignantly as he pulled the arrow off of his face with a resounding ‘pop’. “I totally had him,” He told her, voice hedging on a playful whine.

“You totally didn’t,” Penny teased and then easily reached out and knocked a completely unsuspecting Clint into the floor. He hit the ground with a huff and a grunt as he looked up at her in shock, “Better?” She asked Tony, smile fighting its way onto her face as she tried to force it down.

“Okay, yeah, I dig that,” Tony said with a shrug.

“Girl of Spiders!” Penny jumped as a voice boomed through the room. She spun, having completely forgotten the new person in the room, and came face to face with Thor. Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. “It is a pleasure,” He said as he approached and looked down at Clint who had yet to get back up off of the floor, “Greetings, Hawkeye,” He said momentarily before turning his attention back to the still shocked Penny, “I have heard many things.”

“You’re,” She started, “You’re Thor,” She finished lamely and then smacked her own self in the face as she face-palmed, “Nice to meet you as well,” She said as she shook her head at herself, “And what things exactly?” She asked skeptically as she squinted her eyes.

“Ahh,” Thor said with a grand nod, “Your battle worthy female warrior tells me that you ‘kick ass’,” He said and they all heard Natasha’s amused laugh from the kitchen at hearing Thor attempt to repeat slang, “The man of iron speaks very highly of you,” Thor said with a gesture towards Tony who shrugged and slung an arm around Penny’s shoulders. “The scary one with the red hair is also very protective.”

“Hold on,” Penny said after a moment, “Now I’m confused,” She said with furrowed eyebrows, “Is Natasha the female warrior or the scary one with red hair?” She asked, face scrunched up adorably. She heard Tony snort and saw Natasha step into the room.

“The first one,” She said with a smirk.

Penny cocked her head to the side, “So the scary one with red hair?” She asked and saw Pepper step into the room.

“Would be me,” She said and bit her lip to hold her laugh in. She shrugged, “I don’t understand it either,” Pepper finished but seemed amused by the whole situation. Penny laughed and looked back to the god in front of her in question.

“Very intimidating woman,” He whispered with a nod and wide eyes.

0~0~0

They’d all eaten dinner and sat around for a while to talk as well. Eventually, someone had put a movie on, and they’d watched until Penny fell asleep with her head against Natasha’s shoulder and one of her hands tightly clasped in Pepper’s.

Tony had carried her to bed, he and Pepper ensuring that she was comfortable, had everything she needed, that FRIDAY knew to wake them immediately at the first sign of nightmares or distress, and had dimmed her lights and left her room.

It was now morning and Penny could hear Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Clint arguing in the main room. She got up, brushed her teeth, and made her way down the hallway, stopping to raise an eyebrow in question.

“Thor left his hammer on top of the paperwork we’re supposed to fill out about the mission,” Steve answered her and gestured towards the coffee table.

“So move it?” She asked as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl to fill with cereal.

“Yeah, okay, kid,” Tony said sarcastically, “Just move it,” He snorted, “As if we didn’t already try that. Only he can lift it,” He told her as she reentered the living room and walked over to look down at the hammer everyone else was also staring at.

She took a bite of her cereal and tilted her head to the side, “Really?” She asked, genuinely curious, “Huh,” She mumbled and bit her lip before reaching for the handle of the hammer, “You think he’d mind?”

Clint shrugged, “We’ve all tried it. He thinks it’s hilarious. Go for it,” He told her.

Penny giggled and gripped the handle. She lifted the hammer up off of the table as if it weighed nothing. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as four matching shocked gasps sounded. “Holy shit!” She said.

“Language!” Came the automatic response from all four at the same time. “But, yeah, what she said! Holy shit!” Tony said for all of them.

All five of them looked up when the elevator opened, and Thor stepped into the room. He surveyed the room and his gaze settled on his hammer. “Worthy,” He said, impressed, “Ye shall wield the power of Thor,” He told her.

Penny’s eyes widened and she put the hammer right back where it had been before. “No thanks,” She said, “I’m good with all the shit I’ve already got going on,” She said and gestured to her own body. Thor gave a shrug of understanding.

Tony reached out and attempted to lift the hammer and shook his head when it didn’t budge, “Just checking,” He mumbled.

“Tony? Have you guys filled out that paperwork yet?” Pepper asked as she entered the room and looked up from her phone. She glanced around the room, eyes settling on the paperwork, once again under the hammer, and rolled her eyes. “It’s like having four extra children but none of them are as well behaved,” She said under her breath, “I’ll do it myself then,” She said.

Pepper reached forward, grabbed the handle of the hammer, lifted it, grabbed the paperwork from under it, and placed it back down. She looked up into four, once again, shocked faces. “What?” She asked and looked around. Penny laughed at the four Avengers still staring between them in shock.

“Scary one with the red hair,” Thor said with a nod, “I knew there was a reason.”

0~0~0

Penny woke in a cold sweat just moments before her bedroom door was opening to reveal Pepper. Her lights were slowly coming on so as not to blind her.

“Penny?” Pepper said as she sat down on the bed and pulled the girl into her arms, “Are you okay, darling?” She asked and felt Penny nod against her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked her softly.

Penny was silent for so long that Pepper thought she’d fallen back to sleep. The only give away that she hadn’t was the near death grip that Penny had on the back of Pepper’s shirt. “You still love me, right?” She asked so quietly that if Pepper hadn’t been completely focused on her already, she would have missed it.

“Oh, baby girl, I will never stop loving you,” She told her and pulled back far enough to look at Penny’s pale face, “I love you so much that it hurts sometimes. Ask FRIDAY to show you some of the footage from while you were gone someday. Baby, I was a complete wreck. We all were. God, I love you more than you could ever imagine. You never have to doubt that. And I will always be there to make sure you know it,” Pepper told her solemnly.

“I know,” Penny said and swallowed thickly, “Sometimes,” She bit her lip, “It’s just hard to believe still sometimes. And then the dreams…” She trailed off and shook her head, “They just seem so real.”

“Nightmares have that effect on us,” She told the girl, “They can make us believe in our deepest darkest fears,” Pepper continued and ran her fingers through Penny’s hair, “But you know deep in your heart that your daddy and I love you so much. And that love will always protect you, darling. Just know, that no matter what happens, he and I will do our damndest to get to you, to keep you safe, to bring you home.”

“That’s right, princess,” Penny’s gaze moved from Pepper’s to where Tony had appeared in the doorway now, “Words can’t begin to describe how much we love you,” He told her as he took a seat next to Pepper and felt one of Penny’s hands grab his. “I never thought I could love someone until Pepper walked into my office demanding to speak to me,” He said and earned a playful elbow to his side, “And then you plopped yourself into the middle of New York calling all kinds of attention to yourself,” He said and Penny rolled her eyes but couldn’t quite keep the smile off of her lips, “And I never looked back. I love you, kid. More than you could know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have ideas for another, and I'm working on the trip to the tower fic. Let me know if there's anything you want to see!


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